Silence in Muzaffarnagar after lovers’ suicides

The bodies of Imrana and Rajneesh (pictured) were found hanging from a tree in Bahura Khurd village

A day after a Dalit boy and a Muslim girl committed suicide fearing the wrath of the riot-hit Muzaffarnagar, a studied silence prevailed in their native village of Bahura Khurd.

Though the last rites of Imrana Bano and Rajneesh Kumar were performed on Monday evening, their parents are not ready to talk to the media. The reason: they are under strict vigilance from the police.

Imrana and Rajneesh committed suicide by hanging themselves from a tree after marrying in a temple. The duo were found hanging from a tree from the dupatta of the girl, who was also wearing a mangal sutra and sindoor.

A day before the duo committed suicide, Imrana’s engagement ceremony was performed at her house. Her family had hoped she would wed a local youth.

Imrana and Rajneesh had been in a relationship for the past five years, and both their families sent them to different places in a bid to keep them apart.

Though locals claim that their deaths were suicide, eyebrows were raised when the boy’s father, Ram Kumar, approached the local police station insisting that he would take the body of Rajneesh only after postmortem.

“After we took down the bodies from the tree, the family members of both Imrana and Rajneesh agreed to take them away. However, a couple of hours later, Ram Kumar approached me and said he wants a postmortem to be conducted,” inspector Rajesh Gupta of Bhaura Kalan police station told Mail Today.

The autopsy report of both the deceased clearly mentioned that the cause of death was due to hanging, he added.

While sources in the Bhaura Kalan police station informed Mail Today that the police have statements in writing from both families saying that they do not want any further action, and that the step taken by the duo was their own wish, senior police officers remained mum on further queries.

“It was a case of suicide. I will not comment further,” said Inspector Singh, DSP Phugana.

Meanwhile, the police have claimed that life is normal in the area.

“A routine patrol party is on its duty and things are normal in the locality. We have not posted any guard at their houses,” Gupta claimed.